


Last Night

by drunkbedelia



Category: High School Musical (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angsty conversations, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, References to Drugs, Ten Years Later, all angst, all the bad things, ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-21
Updated: 2017-08-21
Packaged: 2018-12-18 00:42:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11863065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/drunkbedelia/pseuds/drunkbedelia
Summary: Ryan and Chad are married, moderately successful, and living the good life in L.A. But when Ryan comes home stoned again, Chad decides he's had enough.---Set ten(ish) years later





	1. Ryan

_RYAN/_

Ryan awoke to a bursting headache and too much noise. Drawers opening, doors closing, distant rustling and muttering that filled him with familiar dread. His ears felt stuffed with packing peanuts, all sounds far away and distorted, and his back ached with a thrumming pain. He kept his eyes closed, anticipating that they would not appreciate vision just yet. He lay still, locating his limbs, twitching them one by one to ensure last night’s activities had not caused any permanent damage.

Last night. The regret was already there, a tumor buried deep in his stomach, so used to being felt it was almost mundane. As Ryan tried to sharpen the hazy details, he pressed his fingertips into the surface below. Not his bed; a course fabric, sticky. Living room carpet. A pungent whiff of something unpleasant found its way to his nostrils. Living room carpet plus regurgitated vodka. Lovely.

He fluttered his eyes open and surveyed his surroundings with half-open lids. He could see sneakered feet in the distance, walking with purpose in and out of his sightline. Cacophony followed, the owner stomping and crashing and sighing on his way.

Suddenly the sneakers paused on their crusade. Ryan quickly shut his eyes again, but too late.

“You’re up?”

Ryan reluctantly blinked up at Chad, who stood, hands on his hips, in a firm position of moral superiority.

Ryan managed to sit up, slouching against the side of the couch. He squinted, his head protesting loudly against the sunlight. 

“I’m up.” The words were sandpaper against his throat. He looked around for water. Chad sighed and stalked back to the bedroom.

Through the open door Ryan watched Chad grab his backpack, already overflowing, and stuff a few pairs of socks into it. He disappeared to the bathroom and returned with his toothbrush and razor. After a brief fight with the zipper, he threw the bag over his shoulder and returned to where Ryan sat.

Ryan tried to say something, but only a croak came out. Chad looked down at him, those dark eyes usually so warm now empty.

“I’m staying with Kelsi.” He said it without emotion, as if he were announcing his lunch plans. 

Ryan looked up at his husband, the seconds ticking in his ears. The need to respond, to apologize, to cry at Chad’s feet and beg for forgiveness. But it had all been done before, and to say anything now felt like a stale rerun. 

Instead, he stayed silent as Chad turned to the front door. He put his hand on the doorknob and paused, stirring a feather of hope in Ryan’s chest. 

“Clean up your fucking mess.” 

And he was gone.


	2. Chad

_CHAD/_

“He’s ridiculous. He’s selfish, and self-obsessed, and petty. The pettiest man in L.A.”

Kelsi sipped her coffee. “That title has tough competition.”

“And a liar,” Chad continued. “How many times has he promised that he’s done with this shit? It’s getting sad. Thirty and still going on benders every fucking night with a bunch of twenty year olds.” He stirred his untouched coffee with vigor, the spoon clinking against the side of the cup.

“He’s not doing this to hurt you. Not on purpose, anyway.”

Chad snorted. “I’m sure he’s cheated on me.”  


“No,” Kelsi said, frowning. “Ryan wouldn’t do that.”

“Ryan would do anything these days.” Chad threw his spoon on the table and brought his hands to his face. He sighed into his palms. “I’m just so tired.”

“I know,” Kelsi said softly. She reached out and rested her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it with her thumb. A distant radio beat played through the window from the traffic outside.

A crackly shriek broke their silence, making them both jump. Kelsi reached for the baby monitor, turning down the volume. “I’m sorry, Connie’s off today. Do you mind…?”

“I’m fine,” Chad wiped the wetness from his eyes. “Really. Go ahead.”

Kelsi gave him one last look of concern and headed upstairs to her daughter.

Chad sighed into his chair. The searing fury at his husband had shrunk to a dull rage, a candle that seemed to be perpetually burning these days. It flickered inside him even when Ryan was sober, just waiting, anticipating, the next time he’d slip up so it could burn bright again. He was on constant alert for a phone call from a club, or the police, or worse, Ryan’s boss, telling him to come pick up his stoned, pissed husband. Chad didn’t understand how Ryan couldn’t see the fire, couldn’t understand that it threatened to burn them both alive. Or maybe he just didn't care.

The screams on the monitor were replaced by Kelsi’s cooing and shushing. The baby girl gurgled and made soft little noises, peculiar but sweet. The sounds tugged at something else inside of Chad; a desire for more than basketball games and movie premieres and vapid L.A. parties. Something real.

Chad and Ryan had talked about it a few years ago, when Ryan still had his show. Feeling that they’d finally made it, Ryan a sitcom star and Chad a pro athlete, they agreed that a family was the next step. After endless hours of research, they decided on adoption, and even got so far as to fill out the paperwork. Then Ryan’s show was cancelled after its third season and dismal ratings, and the applications were never sent. 

At first Ryan said they should wait until he got another good gig, a sure thing after his last role. But as the months passed with nothing but fruitless auditions and bit parts, Ryan withdrew into himself and the subject became a point of contention. Chad stopped bringing it up, only as a powerful jab in the middle of one of their constant fights. But he couldn’t bring himself to delete the forms, and they remained on his computer, a bitter reminder every time he looked at his desktop.

“Sorry about that,” Kelsi said, returning to the kitchen table. “She gets fussy in the middle of the day.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re a saint, taking me in like this.”

“Of course.” Kelsi tugged at a tendril of hair, wrapping it around her fingers. “You know I love you guys…” she said, and then paused, biting her lip.

“But…?” Chad prompted.

“No but. Maybe this is out of line.” She breathed in. “Rehab.”

Chad sighed heavily. “I know.”

“Has he ever gone?”

Chad shook his head. “We’ve discussed it. He said– he doesn’t like the idea.”

Actually, Chad had brought up rehab exactly once in the last year. It was after a particularly stressful night which Chad had spent driving from bar to bar, looking for Ryan. He had found him sky high at a particularly dingy club, on the verge of blacking out, surrounded by anemic teenagers with sunken eyes and limbs that spasmed independent of their bodies. Chad had pulled him out of the dump, blood pounding in his ears, and made him throw up everything in his stomach. The next morning, Chad sat him down at the breakfast table.

“I think you should go to rehab.”

Ryan grimaced. “Rehab?”

“I found a good facility in Phoenix. It’s one of the best ones, nice but effective.”

Ryan stood up from the table, shaking his head. He turned his back to Chad, reaching for a mug from the cupboard. “You’re being dramatic.”

“I found you passed out at a crack den last night. You can’t even remember what you took.”

Ryan laughed. “It's L.A.”

“Is that an argument?”

“It’s the culture. I’m fine. You wouldn’t get it, you’re not an actor.”

Chad stood up too, following Ryan to the coffee pot. “Maybe all your actor friends are getting wasted every night, but that’s not you.”

Ryan did not meet his gaze as he filled his mug. “Drop it, Chad. This is stupid.”

“No it’s not. I think we should consider this.”

“No.”

“Babe, please–“

“I said no!” Ryan slammed his coffee on the counter, splashing the liquid onto the surface. He glared at Chad. “I’ll go to rehab as soon as you do.”

Chad’s face burned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s what I thought.” Ryan picked up his mug and returned to the table. “It’s just a little fun. Drop it.”

So he did. Even as things got worse and worse, Chad never brought it up again, afraid Ryan would have the same response.

Kelsi let go of her strand of hair, letting the curl reshape naturally. “Maybe you should try again. I know it’s cheesy, but an intervention. I hear they can work.”

“It’s not an option,” Chad said. He knew Ryan would feel attacked, and take the opportunity to publicly humiliate Chad. He repeated his husband’s words. “Let’s drop it.”

“Okay,” Kelsey said. “If you’re sure. What about family? Sharpay?”

Chad shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I’m out of ideas.” Kelsey threw up her hands. “But you have to do something. For your sake as much as Ryan’s.”

"I know.” 

The baby monitor lit up again, and Kelsi started apologizing. Chad waved her words away, and she ran up the stairs, leaving him alone.

Chad picked up his coffee cup and walked to the sink, looking down into its shiny basin. His face stared back, distorted and blurry, a smudge of darkness against the silver. He emptied the mug, holding it high in the air and watching the liquid splash down. The stream circled the drain, slowly disappearing, until there was nothing left but his reflection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the end or might not, if there is any desire for more ?


End file.
